


The first time Juno Steel saw the snow

by Pierogis4days



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Juno is trying, Juno leaves Mars, Kisses, M/M, Mentions of Panic Attacks, Peter is helping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 08:17:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17199893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pierogis4days/pseuds/Pierogis4days
Summary: It has been two months since Juno left Mars for the first time in his life with Peter Nureyev. He is not doing well. Everything changes when Juno visits a planet that has snow.





	The first time Juno Steel saw the snow

**Author's Note:**

> A one shot I wrote for a person from discord hiiiii I hope you enjoy it!

Two months since Juno left Mars. Only two months, Peter would say, if he was traveling alone, as he usually did. He was accustomed to long space travel, days, sometimes weeks spent on the same ship. But this time, he took a certain lady aboard. He booked a room in a first class section to ensure his ladys comfort. He was supportive and helped him through moments when he doubted his decision. Peter did, more or less, expect for things not to be going as well as he would like - he just didn't think it would last this long. 

Two months have passed since Juno quite literally stepped out of his comfort zone and left his home planet for the first time in his life. The first few days were not bad at all. Both Juno and Peter were surprised at how smooth everything was going. The panic attacks began after they have reached their first destination, Venus, a planet close to Mars that Peter have chosen just to be safe. The moment Juno layed his foot on the surface of an unfamiliar planet, he lost his temper completely, and they had to retreat into the ship to do breathing exercises and to drink some water. It seemed like Venus clicked some kind of switch inside of Junos head, because since then he was constantly nervous and tense, no matter how long Peter would massage his back (and Peters hands were very skilled at giving massages). He wouldn't listen when Peter asked if this was too much for him, though. He has decided already. He's not going to back up now, not after what he did last time he made a promise to the thief.

After spending some time on Venus they visited a planet that was further away, but it resembled Mars thanks to it's desert landscapes. Maybe the detective would adapt to a familiar scenery more easily. That, unfortunately, also wasn't the best choice. He didn't react as abruptly as he did on Venus, but his mood was getting gradually worse. A similar climate might have helped, but that wasn't Mars, and the similarities were disturbing Juno more than they were helping him to adjust.  
So when nothing changed after a few weeks they were there, Peter booked the first class again. 

 

 

The emptiness under the sheets next to him was enough to wake Peter up in the middle of the night. He sat up quickly, ready to start to panic, but exhaled a sigh of relief when he saw a beam of light coming from behind the bathroom door. Juno was still here. 

Peter searched for his glasses in the dark and followed the light to gently open the door, making no sound. And there was Juno, sitting on the floor, his face hidden in his hands and his shoulders squared up. He looked so small and vulnurable, and the sight cluthed Peters heart, he couldn't bare it.

"Darling?" He asked in the softest tone he could manage.

The detective was startled anyway, jumped and hit his head agains a cabinet he was leaning against. He spit out a couple of curses before looking up. His eyes were red from tears and his cheeks were wet.

"You really like sneaking up on me, don't you." 

"I didn't mean to." Peter joined him on the floor. "It must be a habit from work."

Juno didn't respond. He looked at the floor like he was trying to burn a hole in it with his gaze. They sat in silence for a while.

"Juno, I... I'm sorry I pushed you to leave Mars with me. You should go back."

"What?" Juno looked at Peter and he saw his expression change from confusion to sadness and settling on anger. 

"I can't stand seeing you like this. It's hurting you. I'm hurting you-"

"No. Nureyev, stop." He hid his face again. "I'm the one who made this decision. I know I can take it. I'm not going to go back there just because I'm having a bad day... week. Month." 

"You made this decision under pressure. Influenced by... strong emotions." 

Another long silence. 

"Nureyev, you know, if I go back... I won't be able to leave again." Juno murmured so quietly, Peter had to hold his breath to hear it. 

He risked putting his hand on Junos shoulder. When he didn't protest, he moved it to his hand that was pressed to his face and pulled it away gently to kiss the inside of his palm. It was wet with salty tears. 

"Alright... This is the last planet then. We can decide what to do after we visit this last one."

Juno didn't look at him, but nodded. They stood up and walked back to bed, still holding hands. They both could't sleep, so they just hugged most of the night. Juno broke into tears twice more that night, but this time Peter was there to kiss them off his cheeks and to whisper soft affirmations to his ear. 

 

 

They made it to the next planet 24 hours later. Juno didn't look out the window, as the other passengers might be doing while the ship was preparing to land. Peter tried to convince him to get some sleep before, but the most he managed to get was that Juno was sitting on the bed now instead of the cold floor. Peter did doze off a couple of times, but Juno was wide awake, spending time on listening to some radio station on his comms, probably checking the news on Mars, or just looking at the wall in front of him with a blank expression. 

Peter looked up at him with eyes half closed. He was the most beautiful to him, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes absent. He was somewhere else, even though it would only take a small motion for Peter to touch his skin, Juno wasn't there. He was, most likely, on Mars. What time was it there now? Probably the middle of the day. Juno must be wondering what are his friends doing. Did Rita find a new job already? And how many jobs have Mick been kicked out of since they left? Peter could understand that, but not fully sympathise with it - he didn't really have to deal with problems like that in his line of work. Not until he met his detective, at least.

The ship landed smoothly and most of the passengers have left already, so when Peter and Juno got to the spaceport it wasn't crowded. They walked out through the main door and saw the city spreading before them. According to their inner clocks it should be nearing sunrise, but instead they got to see the sunset. 

If Hyperion was red and orange and dusty, then this city could be described as icy and blue. The buildings had high and slick shapes, and most of them were covered in glass and wide windows that reflected the setting sun. The city was covered in a layer of snow, and in fact, it was snowing right now, soft snowflakes falling slowly, as if there was no wind at all.

It was quite beautiful and Peter let out a small sigh at that sight, unintentionally. Meanwhile, Juno stayed completely silent. Peter turned his eyes towards him, worried what his reaction may be. And he saw Juno staring with his mouth open, looking around in complete shock. 

"Is everything alright? Juno?"

He must have realised he had his mouth open, because he closed it quickly and let out a small sound, something between a snort and a little laugh.  
"What... what is this, what the hell?" He looked down towards his feet, took a few steps back and watched as his shoes leaved traces in the snow. "It's like it's... raining powdered sugar."

Peter stared at him in confusion, before he gasped: "Have you never seen snow before...?" 

Juno was looking up into the sky now and he laughed while stumbling a bit, loosing his balance. "THIS is snow? I imagined it looked... different."

Of course, how could he forget? In the climate of Mars it wasn't possible for snow to occur. Juno must have only heared it being described by people who left Mars and had the chance to see it. It certainly wasn't a novelty for Peter, he has visited multiple icey planets, some with snow so thick and in such huge amounts, he had to wear at least five layers of warm clothes and was still freezing. It snowed from time to time on Brahma, too.

Peter couldn't help but smile while he rested his hands on Junos shoulders to prevent him from falling down. This was the first time he saw Juno smiling or laughing in almost two months. He realised that was his favourite sound in the world and he didn't know how he could bare not hearing it for so long. 

Peter didn't want to somehow ruin the moment of pure joy Juno was experiencing, but he just couldn't help himself, he had to taste that smile of his. So he cupped Junos cheek and pressed a soft, loving kiss on his mouth. Peter could feel Juno shivering under his fingers and he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from the sudden closeness. He pulled away after a couple of long seconds to see his detective smirking at him devilishly. It made Peter feel like he has butterflies in his stomach.

"You know what I've heard you could do with snow?" Juno asked, but didn't wait for Peter to respond and instead bent down quickly and gathered some from the ground into a small ball. "This!"

And he threw it in Peters face. 

 

 

That was supposed to be the last planet before Juno decides if he's going to go back or stay with Peter Nureyev. Ten planets and a couple of heists later, Juno didn't regret staying with him for a second. There were still low moments, days when Juno felt like he couldn't breathe, like the lack of poisonous fumes of the Hyperion City was suffocating him. But he knew it was worth it to try. Peter wasn't lying when he told him every planet was more beautiful than the last. And Juno was getting better. Never fully healed, but better. And that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> And they lived happily ever after. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
